An award-winning photographer who claims to have discovered Twiggy appeared in court today charged with groping the breasts of two women.

Barry Lategan, 80, whose subjects include Princess Anne and Margaret Thatcher, is accused of assaulting one of his victims after following her off a London bus.

Lategan is said to have approached both women before fondling their breasts.

Dressed in black with a flamboyant Union Jack bow tie, the photographer spoke only to confirm his name during the short hearing.

Photography Career: Barry Lategan is pictured here with Twiggy whose pictures he took in the 1960s (Image: Copyright (c) 2003 Rex Features. No use without permission.)

The first incident is alleged to have happened in July 2013 when he "sat too close" to a 44-year-old woman on a bus and showed her his portfolio.

He is accused of following her off the bus in Fulham, west London, before hugging her and groping her breasts.

In a second alleged incident last July, Lategan approached a woman in a branch of Caffe Nero and started taking photographs of her before saying he would show them to her.

He is then alleged to have asked her to pose on the sofa for a photo-shoot before stroking her thigh and fondling one of her breasts.

During today's brief hearing at Isleworth Crown Court, prosecutor Ravinder Johal said: "There are two separate allegations, we are seeking to join them. There are two female complainants and they are similar, one took place on a bus, one in a studio."

Judge Martin Edmunds said: "The plea and case management hearing will be on May 19th, which is the next time he shall appear in court. The trial, which is expected to last three days, is fixed for September 7.

"The prosecution has indicated it proposes a joint indictment. The defence has explained it will issue a report on his fitness to plead and stand trial."

Lategan, of Camberwell, south London, who indicated as an earlier hearing that he will deny both charges, was released on unconditional bail.

He took the first professional photographs of Twiggy in 1965 when she modelled for stylist Leonard's of Mayfair. Two of his famous early photographs of her hang in the Victoria and Albert Museum.

His work has featured on the covers of magazines including Vogue and Harpers Bazaar.

He has photographed former model Patti Boyd, Paul and Linda McCartney, John Major and Salmon Rushdie. In 1986 he won awards for his work on the Pirelli Calendar.